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Gretchen Walsh Breaks 50m Freestyle Record, Wins Gold in Rome

6/29/2026

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Summary

Story summary

Gretchen Walsh set a new 50-meter freestyle world record of 23.55 seconds in Rome, beating Kate Douglass’s 23.59 from nine days earlier.
Kate Douglass set the previous record in Indianapolis on June 19, ending a U.S. streak dating to Dara Torres in 1986.
Walsh also holds the 100-meter butterfly world record and won gold in that event and the 50-meter butterfly at the 2025 World Championships, her first long-course titles.

History

Historical Context

At the 2008 Beijing Games, Germany’s Britta Steffen set a 24.06-second Olympic record in the women’s 50 m freestyle, eclipsing Inge de Bruijn’s mark and sparking a decade-long race for faster sprint times. U.S. swimmers then chased the record, culminating in Gretchen Walsh’s 23.55-second record swim in Rome in 2024, prompting USA Swimming to boost sprint training ahead of Paris 2028.

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Story summary

Gretchen Walsh set a new 50-meter freestyle world record of 23.55 seconds in Rome, beating Kate Douglass’s 23.59 from nine days earlier.
Kate Douglass set the previous record in Indianapolis on June 19, ending a U.S. streak dating to Dara Torres in 1986.
Walsh also holds the 100-meter butterfly world record and won gold in that event and the 50-meter butterfly at the 2025 World Championships, her first long-course titles.

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